The Australian government is in talks with the US government over the implications of a ban of the Russian antivirus software company Kaspersky, but no plans are yet in place to follow suit.
A spokesperson for the Australian home affairs department said while the ban is a sovereign decision for the US, and other countries can make their own assessments and decisions, the government is “closely monitoring the developments in the US on this matter, and the department is proactively engaged with the US government to understand the implications of the determination”.
“The Australian government is committed to keeping Australians safe and secure, and will continue to make appropriate decisions about our security interests as necessary, in accordance with our national interests,” the home affairs spokesperson said.
The UK and US governments believe Russia’s intelligence agencies already work with cybercriminal groups, and those agencies “would be foolish not to leverage those on the other side as well”, Kirk said.Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersKaspersky was contacted for comment.